A collection of my recipes & food related thoughts…

curry recipes

I have said it before and I’ll say it again-I love the vastness and diversity that Indian cookery has to offer! I’m constantly learning about new regional dishes which continue to broaden my culinary perspective on Indian cuisine. I feel so lucky to have lots of family who reside in India and I visit them as often as I can-and as much as I love catching up and staying with my loved ones (how can I not love staying with my Grandma won’t stop feeding me until I look “healthy”?), I always endeavour to do as much exploring and traveling as I can in my motherland. Recently I got the opportunity to visit Go-a wonderful, former Portuguese province, that fuses Eastern & Western culture into one state. A popular tourist destination, Goa is well known for its beaches, markets, history, spice plantations and most importantly its food! Today’s recipe is inspired by this spicy, fresh and flavoursome cuisine and features ingredients typically found in Goan dishes such as chilli, tamarind & fresh coconut. It’s oven baked which adds a lovely depth and richness to the dish making it perfect to be mopped up with hot fresh chappatis and a cold winter’s evening!

Pre-heat oven at 220C (or the highest temperature your oven goes to). In the mean time, place the chicken and the potatoes in a deep roasting tray.

Once the oven is hot, cook for approximately 15 minutes. Turn the chicken pieces over and cook for a remaining 10-12 minutes or until the chicken is cooked and white all the way through. Remove the chicken but keep the oven on.

In a food processor add the onions, green chilli, ginger and garlic and blitz until a coarse paste forms.

Heat the oil in a non stick pan. Once hot, add the cinnamon stick, black cardamom, green cardamom, cloves, cumin seeds & bay leaves. When they begin to splatter in the oil, add the coarse masala paste into the pan alongside 2 tsp salt and cook on medium heat for 3-5 minutes. When the masala turns slightly golden in colour, add the coconut and continue to cook for 5-7 minutes. Now add 1 tsp garam masala, 1 tsp paprika and the turmeric. Mix well for 1-2 minutes.

Add the tamarind paste and plum tomatoes & mash well. Continue to cook for 3-4 minutes or until you see the oil begin to separate from the masala. Now add the coriander. Check for salt and adjust accordingly.

Add the masala to the roasting tray containing the chicken and mix. Cover with foil.

Urad & Chana Dal Masala otherwise known as “Maa Chole ki Dal” is one that is commonly relished in Punjabi households. Made from tempering a combination of split urad dal and chana dal (split bengal gram) lentils in a typical Punjabi masala, this dish never fails to satisfy at dinner time! This is a favourite of my Pops, especially when served with red onion, raw mango pickle and fresh hot tandoori chappatis. Creamy in texture and spicy in flavour, it’s not hard to see why it tops his list (well..he doesn’t actually have a list..but if he did, it would!). Check out the recipe below. Comments/tweets are always appreciated!

Add the washed lentils to a pressure cooker. Add approx 4 cups of water, 1 tsp of salt and the turmeric powder. When the first whistle goes, cook for a further 20-25 minutes. (If you do not have a pressure cooker, cook lentils in a pan with approx 5-6 cups of water. Cook them until they are tender and slightly mushy in texture.

Heat oil in a non-stick pan. Add the cumin seeds and asafoetida. When the seeds begin to splatter, add the onions. Now add 1 tsp of salt and mix continuously until the onions begin to brown slightly. Once light golden, add the ginger, garlic and chilli. Mix well.

Now add the garam masala, paprika and cook for 1-2 minutes. Add the tomatoes at this point and mash them well with a wooden spoon. Continue to mix and cook for 2 minutes.

When you begin to see the oil separate from the masala, add the coriander and mix. You are now ready to add the masala to the cooked lentils. Once you have added the masala to the dal, mix well and add approx 1 cup water (or according to how thin/thick you would like your dal to be).

Bring to boil on high heat, mixing every 1-2 minutes. Turn off heat. Check for salt and adjust accordingly.